​Remember the time when you stood in an elevator and the person walking in from another floor made eye contact with you? Said a low but precious “hi” or just acknowledged your presence somehow? It was cool, wasn’t it… 

A few years ago, I was leaving work later one evening to go to ballet class. As I was waiting, I fetched my earphones to have my music ready for my commute. I actually try not to put my earphones on in the elevator out of respect for those around me but seeing that it was 7 pm, I figured there wouldn’t be anyone there. The elevator dings at its arrival, I step in and saw a gentleman standing there. Noticing my earphones the man commented on how the younger generation is always “connected”. What he did not know is that my music was not playing yet. The ONE time I decided to play my music in the elevator, I get busted AND judged for it, giving a bad name to my generation on top of it. It was for music, not candy crush, but I understand what it looks like from the outside. I of course immediately turned around, took my earpieces out and said smiling “not all of us ” to his surprise. Ever since then though, this further reinforced my habit of keeping my earphones out of sight so long as there are people around me in the elevator and on my way in and out of the work environment. Had this been the eighties, I would have had earphones and a chunky yellow Sony Walkman and the man would have made the same comment. He had a point though, must we always be connected? 

Standing in the elevator my way down this week, I decided to pay attention to individuals walking in at each stop, as I usually do, but this time I noted who was looking up and who was looking down at their phone *crowd gasps in shock* Why would I conduct such an elaborate and scientific experiment you ask? I was curious to see how many of us make a conscious effort to have contact with others. And it IS a CONSCIOUS effort to battle the habit of automatically reaching for our phone to fill, what, one minute of an elevator ride with mindless phone browsing? We can hardly get a glance from anyone anymore. Someone actually saying hello seems to be a miraculous surviving breed of humans. Indeed, the social skills that were once presented during those few instants shared with strangers are slowly being pulverized by our attachment to our mobile phones. ​

I got your attention with that title, didn’t I? This is quite a popular topic among bloggers, influencers and all other names you giveth thee. Considering the amount of information that is accessible on this topic, I thought it would be interesting to launch 2018 by exploring the behaviours around content creators. January and February can be a little slow while we are hanging in the winter vortex and many of us writers can be asking ourselves: what should I write about?
 
But first, what is content creation?
 
Put very simply, content creation is the act of, well, creating content. Pretty much what I am doing at the moment: writing about something, expressing thoughts targeting a certain audience. Content creation can also be photography, video montages and other types of format.
 
Back to the initial question: what should I write about?
 
Myself? I could write for days. In the world of me, a blank page is stimulating, like a blank canvas, it means possibilities. Why I have the stories in my head right now. The challenge is: will what I write be engaging? Will my content be informative? Because let’s face it, the motivation to write and share is usually to engage and inform, to inspire and transform one word at a time. That being said, even though we may have billions of ideas percolating in our head, it doesn’t mean that any of them will be a pertinent topic for the target audience. What would give our own content significant traction? What behaviours revolve around successful content creators? Since I am no content creator expert, I am in no position to give advice here. However, as a career counsellor expert, I have spotted a few psychological truths and behavioural tendencies that can explain part of the success these folks have. These are hardly secrets but I still think they should be explained and reviewed as it can take the pressure off and perhaps also engage and inspire? ;)

Content creators have a team. Don’t be fooled by the solo act. A behavioural tendency that these individuals have in common is that they are highly self-aware. They know their strengths and accept what their weaker links are and therefore, are not shy to invest in the proper tools they require to achieve their goals. Most online content creators that do well have a team assisting them in developing and maintaining their brand. An “entourage” if you will, of specialists like a glam squad for hair and makeup, photographers and touch up artists that will analyze every inch of those photos (...then again Botox, lip injection and teeth whitening frenzy are still very much present but between that and filters who can tell anymore?). Also, don’t go thinking all of those professional photos, videos, websites, logos, and more have magically appeared. There are graphic designers, advisors, “photoshopers” and more that are once again part of the team. Even if the creator is a photographer, for example, he or she will still need to take time to sort and edit. While they are doing all that, less time can be spent on generating more content. Which leads me to my next point...is all this time allocated to inventing material actually getting remuneration? That depends.

Is the content creator doing it to make a living out of it or just for the free props and events? 

CEO of Media Shower, John Hargrave says: “Online content creators get paid far less than they are worth”. How true this is, at least for individuals starting out on their own and not creating content for an already existing business or company. Many are extremely talented and work through blood, sweat and tears at generating and editing posts, videos, texts but not a penny will roll in if there is no product or service to be sold. Apart from getting visibility through sponsors or YouTube Ads (and you will need a lot of those), as Hargrave explains in his article, there needs to be a business to sell or a second income. So what are the psychological or behavioural tendencies here? Prosperous online content creators are true social butterflies and have harnessed a solid network foundation long before launching social media channels. This audience ensures followership and increases business. Guess what, 80% of all employment opportunities are in the hidden market. Those precious contacts enable them to stay in the know of upcoming tendencies and new business opportunities.

Successful content creators are excellent communicators. They shine under the spotlight and have a natural talent for the written word and/or are very well spoken. They possess a clear vision as to where they want to take their followers and will do so with wittiness and a great sense of humour. The power to convince is a strong force but one has to be convinced to be convincing. Keeping it authentic is key. Their vision is what keeps them motivated and of course motivation fuels perseverance to achieve.
 
I have found that for most of the popular online content creators, education does not seem to have an impact on their credibility. At first glance, experience, name dropping, and followership are what define credentials. While I am certainly not saying content creators are uneducated, far from it actually. Degrees just don't appear to be a sought out thing in the "about/bio" section. This movement is quite interesting to some extent as entrepreneurial efforts and supporters are placed forward. There exists a vibe of encouragement, of boldness and excitement in launching one's brand online. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram have definitely evolved with their members and cultivated an even stronger adherence by creating business profiles. Allowing sellers and shoppers to coexist in a productive harmony.

On the other hand, the purchasing client should obviously be concerned if the individual is selling personal “counselling”. While there are many schools of thought, the individual should be a member of the appropriate professional association ensuring proper practice and that a certain code of ethics is being respected. That’s my career counsellor hat talking here ;)